


all these broken souls each one more beautiful (we will face the odds against us)

by OsleyaKomWonkru



Series: The Untold Story of Wonkru [9]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Gen, Healing, M/M, Octavia and Niylah are Classics Nerds, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, and it is rubbing off on Jackson and Miller, chosen family, lots of feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-10 06:27:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15943637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OsleyaKomWonkru/pseuds/OsleyaKomWonkru
Summary: Once the first transport to Second Earth departs from theEligius IV, Octavia, Niylah and Jackson wake up Miller.  Their chosen family again complete, they resolve to take this time of peace to begin to heal from the traumas of the bunker - together.Octavia sat up and reached a hand out to Miller, the other to Niylah. All four joined hands, in a way they often had in the bunker, but they no longer wanted to say the words that they’d said before. It was another world, another age, and they all knew they wanted to leave that behind.The others looked to Octavia for their cue, and she took a deep breath, preparing for something.“From this day and past the end of the world, we in it shall be remembered - we few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he who has shed his blood with me shall be my brother. But shed blood no more, for we live now in peace. Em bilaik stoda kom nes soujon noumou.”





	all these broken souls each one more beautiful (we will face the odds against us)

**Author's Note:**

> I love these four and I want them so much to be a family. Like I said in some of the notes for [there's a letter sealed and unopened for you (we hold it in the most when we're wearing thin)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15794610) I think it is telling that when Octavia is in her coma in 5x09, the three people you see in the room with her before the action starts to happen are Niylah, Jackson and Miller, all clearly worried for her in a way beyond just "she's their leader". They're also the only members of Wonkru who stayed loyal to her the entire season.
> 
> There will be more bunker flashbacks with the four of them coming soon, but first we've got this post-S5 story in my The Untold Story of Wonkru 'verse that starts with the story linked above.
> 
> Trigedasleng:
> 
> Em bilaik stoda kom nes soujon noumou - For it is only the beginning of the next journey  
> Ai niron - my love

Six watched as the transport ship undocked from the _Eligius IV_ , beginning its descent to what most had taken to calling Second Earth.

Octavia didn’t like the name. Such a name only had an association with the Second Dawn, and that bunker was something she wanted to leave as far back in the past as possible. She needed to be free.

Bellamy worried, knowing that both Echo and Clarke were on that ship, along with the rest of his remaining Spacekru family. But he remained back on the _Eligius IV_ with a number of people who were extremely complicated to him.

Octavia, a sister lost and found and lost again, who he’d promised to build a new relationship with.

Jordan, who had wanted so much to be on that first transport, but in the interest of honouring their promise to Monty and Harper to keep him safe, Clarke and Bellamy had adamantly refused to let him go into an unknown world.

Madi, who Clarke had likewise demanded stay on the _Eligius IV_. Clarke hadn’t even wanted to take her out of cryo, but the necessity for Nightblood to synthesize so that any of them could leave the ship meant that both she and Clarke had been needed. And Madi had refused to go back into cryo after that, thus she remained here as Bellamy’s responsibility.

Niylah, who meant a lot to Octavia, but save for their first conversation after he’d woken her up, he hadn’t had much contact with her, and he didn’t know where they stood now. She spent most of her time either with Octavia in their room, or with Clarke and Jackson in the infirmary.

Jackson, who he knew even less, but enough to know that he was part of Octavia’s inner circle, and a doctor, which was why he’d been awakened fairly quickly to begin the Nightblood synthesis. Clarke had wanted to wake her mother for that, but she accepted a quiet suggestion from Niylah to choose Jackson instead.

Bellamy knew that the only people Octavia wanted to see less than Clarke herself were Abby and Kane. Leaving them in cryo was perhaps the better option.

They watched the burst of flame as the transport passed through the planet’s atmosphere, and then it became an even tinier speck that slowly disappeared from view.

“Don’t worry.” Madi said to him. “They’ve got the Lasercom. We’ll know when they land, and they’ll tell us what’s going on. We can stay here on the bridge to listen for it.”

Bellamy nodded at her, and turned to Octavia, who was standing by the window with Niylah on one side of her, arms around each other, and Jackson on the other, his hands clenching nervously.

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.” Bellamy said to them. “If you want to go wake up Miller now, we’re fine here.”

The threesome nodded, and Jackson was already halfway out the door in no time at all, while Octavia and Niylah moved at their own pace.

“Bell?” Octavia asked as they got to the door, turning back to face her brother.

“Yeah?”

“Best stay here for now. Until we catch him up. I - I’ll let you know when we’re ready to have you move into the suite.”

Bellamy nodded wordlessly, remembering his last interactions with Miller. Their argument in his cell, Miller’s words ringing in his ears as the hydrofarm burned, though he still hadn’t understood the gravity of them at the time.

Octavia took Niylah’s hand, and they headed down through the maze of hallways to the cryopods, where they met Jackson, who was already standing next to Miller’s pod, looking both excited and apprehensive.

“What if he’s angry that we didn’t wake him up already?” Jackson asked nervously. “We’ve been awake for two weeks now.”

“It wasn’t our call to make.” Niylah said softly, rubbing Jackson’s shoulder. “There are limited resources here. He won’t bear you any ill will for it. And remember, most people are still asleep. Of four hundred and ten, three hundred and eighty-three still slumber.”

“It’ll be fine.” Octavia agreed. “Just… just keep him away from Bellamy until he’s had some time.”

“Or what if this is all a mistake?” Jackson whispered. “Maybe we all should have stayed asleep.”

“Man by suffering shall learn, so the heart of him again aching with remembered pain, bleeds and sleepeth not, until wisdom comes against his will.” Octavia said, though Jackson looked at her with a confused expression. “Aeschylus.” She continued, as if the name of the author would explain everything.

“What she means is, we have this opportunity for peace and healing away from others. To begin to deal with everything we’ve been through.” Niylah explained. “Real peace and real healing, Eric. We need it, and it doesn’t happen in the stasis of cryo. There’s only three other people awake on this ship and we can avoid them if we want to. Why wouldn’t you want Nate to have this with us? Or for us to have this at all?”

“I do. I do want him.” Jackson pressed the button decisively, releasing the ice and bringing Miller back to wakefulness.

Miller blinked several times, focusing in on each of the three standing around him. “Looks like I’m late to the party.”

“You have no idea.” Octavia said, but Miller didn’t seem to hear her as he jumped up and embraced Jackson.

Niylah squeezed Octavia’s hand as they watched the two men reunite, letting them have this moment before diving into the details of their situation.

Once they finished kissing, Miller looked around, seeing all the still-sealed pods. He frowned.

“Or maybe I’m early to the party? Why isn’t everyone else waking up?”

“It’s a long story.” Jackson said, squeezing Miller’s shoulder. “Starting with we were asleep for a lot longer than ten years.”

“Wait. What?”

“One hundred and twenty five years.” Niylah said, moving closer to give Miller a hug. “That’s how long we were asleep.”

“Wha - why that long? And why are we awake now?”

After Niylah, Octavia moved in, and Miller hugged her fiercely, forgetting his worldly questions for a moment. When she pulled back from the hug, Miller looked at her closely, hands still on her shoulders.

“You okay?” he asked her, eyes serious.

“I will be.” Octavia said, looking around at their little group. “Now that I’ve got my whole family here.”

Miller rested his forehead against Octavia’s for a moment, and then he finally stepped away, looking at the rest of the room again. “They’re staying asleep?”

Octavia nodded. “For now. And we’ve got a lot to talk about. But let’s do that somewhere more comfortable, shall we?”

* * *

“So we’re at a new planet. Some people have already gone down to see it, find out if we can live there. Most everyone else is still asleep, save for us and Bellamy and the kids, is that right?”

“Pretty much.” Octavia said, leaning back into Niylah’s embrace as they shared the window seat.

Miller still looked a bit dazed as he tried to process all of the information. He shook his head in bewilderment. “It doesn’t seem real.”

“We’re used to change. We can handle this.” Jackson squeezed Miller’s knee as they lounged together on the couch.

“I know we can, but - wow. And why are we here, instead of going down with them?”

“Peace.” Niylah said, kissing Octavia’s temple. “The chance at peace. For a time, at least. We could all use it.”

“I’m not even sure I know what peace looks like anymore.” Miller muttered, though he did move further into Jackson’s touch.

“Like this.” Jackson said. “No wars to fight. No hard choices to make.”

“Three meals of algae a day.” Octavia said. “Not the most appetizing food in the universe, but we’ve had worse.”

“Yeah.” Miller agreed. “We’ve definitely survived worse.”

“Now we can live, instead of just survive.” Niylah whispered into Octavia’s hair, but her voice carried to them all.

“So… were there any questions as to why we’re staying here?” Miller asked. “Or is it like when they decided we were going into cryo, where they didn’t even consult any of Wonkru on the subject?”

“I decided.” Niylah said. “Mostly for this one here.” She tightened her grip on Octavia. “But we could all use this.”

“Some of them know.” Octavia said carefully. “Our secrets, that is.”

Miller tensed, and Jackson rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s okay, Nate. Well, not _okay_ , but… it’s fine.”

“Who knows?”

“Abby told Clarke and Madi, back in Shallow Valley. Echo figured it out on her own. Bellamy… you know the letters I wrote him over the years. Monty found them, read them, and when Bellamy and Clarke were woken up first… one of his messages was for Bellamy to read them.” Octavia said. “I… that’s why Bellamy is up here, not down there. I need my brother again, I just - I don’t know how yet.”

Miller nodded. “You’re sure about that?”

“I am. It won’t be easy, and there’s still - there’s things that I only feel comfortable with with you three - it’ll take time. But Bell has recognized where he went wrong and he’s sorry. I just - I need time to accept that, and forgive him. I don’t know how long that will take. But still - he may be my brother, but you’re my family.”

Octavia sat up and reached a hand out to Miller, the other to Niylah. All four joined hands, in a way they often had in the bunker, but they no longer wanted to say the words that they’d said before. It was another world, another age, and they all knew they wanted to leave that behind.

The others looked to Octavia for their cue, and she took a deep breath, preparing for something.

“From this day and past the end of the world, we in it shall be remembered - we few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he who has shed his blood with me shall be my brother. But shed blood no more, for we live now in peace. _Em bilaik stoda kom nes soujon noumou._ ”

“Shakespeare.” Niylah said. “With some modifications.”

Octavia nodded. “It is time for new traditions. We all have a lot of pain to deal with. I won’t pretend that it’s just me. The bunker took its toll on all of us. But just like we did down there, here we can help each other cope. Find a new way to live. Learn to live with ourselves. I know it won’t be easy. We’ve got plenty of demons to fight. But we can do it. Together.”

“Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.” Jackson whispered.

“Seneca. I’m impressed.” Octavia said.

Jackson blushed. “You left that book in the infirmary when you and Niylah were discharged after those attempts on our lives. I needed something, anything, to take my mind off of everything that had been happening, and that line stayed with me.”

“There’s a question, do we even have books on this ship?” Miller asked. “Didn’t really pack any with us when we headed to Shallow Valley.”

“Even better.” Octavia said, picking her reading tablet from where it lay next to her. “The designers of this ship didn’t want the crew to be bored, I guess, while they were watching the prisoners do their work. Pretty much any book you want, it’s here, in the digital library. There should be a tablet in your room if you’re interested in reading.”

“Sure, I mean, not really much else to do here, right?” Miller asked. “Though please tell me this place has a training room.”

“It does.” Jackson said. “Though you’re still on doctor’s orders to rest for a week. That gunshot wound might be a hundred and twenty five years old, but I’m sure you’re still feeling it.”

“Same goes for you, _ai niron_.” Niylah whispered to Octavia. “No training.”

“But I wasn’t shot.” Octavia complained.

“She just doesn’t want me to have a sparring partner.” Miller said, giving Niylah a look.

“We take care of each other.” Niylah told him pointedly. “Isn’t that right, Eric?”

“That’s right.” Jackson pressed his forehead to the side of Miller’s head. “First we heal the physical pain. Then we figure out the rest. We can’t each be strong every minute of every day. But together we have a chance. We can be strong for each other.”

Miller nodded, looking to Octavia, who reached her hand out again, and he took it, squeezing it in reassurance. That day after the first gladiator fights when they’d first pledged to look out for each other was a distant memory now, but their promises still held fast.

Jackson and Niylah shared a look of their own, also having bonded through years working side by side in the infirmary. None of them were immune to nightmares of what they’d gone through, but the toll borne by the warrior spirits they loved was different from their own. The pain more primal, more visceral, memories not just of what they’d seen but of what they’d had to do to ensure the human race survived. And how did one live with knowing that they themselves had been the cause of the suffering they’d endured, no matter how unwillingly it was? Jackson and Niylah knew the road ahead for both Octavia and Miller wouldn’t be easy. At least here they were able to exist apart from the judgmental gaze of those who hadn’t experienced everything that they had.

“Who are we now?” Miller half-whispered. “We’ve been at war for so long. Who are we in peace?”

“I asked that same question.” Octavia said. “And I’m still not sure of the answer.”

“It isn’t an easy one.” Niylah said, wrapping her arms around Octavia’s waist, resting her chin on her shoulder. “But we will find it. In these precious moments of time that we have to just be. And remember, the one thing that we do know, the one thing that we know that we are - is family.”

“Family.” They all repeated.

Family when Octavia had a panic attack and they found her huddled on the bathroom floor, bleeding, surrounded by shattered pieces of the broken mirror. Niylah held her as she sobbed and shook, whispering words of comfort into her ear. Jackson bandaged up her wounds. Miller swept up the glass.

Family when Miller was overwhelmed with flashbacks and wouldn’t leave their room for a week. Jackson held him and rocked him into sleep whenever the screaming ended. Niylah sang the cradle songs of her childhood. Octavia brought them all food and water.

Family when Niylah couldn’t sleep for three days and being cooped up in the ship was almost too much to bear. Octavia held her and recited all of _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_ , her favourite Shakespearean play. Miller kept her company as she walked laps of the ship, night after night. Jackson synthesized a new type of algae and brought soothing tea. 

Family when Jackson woke them all up screaming from nightmares. Miller held him and reminded him that they were here, they were together, they were safe. Octavia told Scheherazade’s tales of the _One Thousand and One Nights_ when sleep was the last thing he wanted. Niylah gave a massage to try to release the tension from his body.

Family. Always.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "Ricochet" and "It Has Begun" by Starset.


End file.
